St. Charles East closes after likely flu outbreak

October 20, 2009

St. Charles East High School started Monday with 611 students absent. By the end of school Tuesday that number had grown to 972.

With about 45 percent of the 2,200-student body absent, teachers giving lessons to half-empty classrooms and health officials advising caution as the H1N1 flu virus circulates in the area, school officials decided Tuesday to cancel classes through Friday.

"For the purposes of our operations ... and also for the safety of all of our students, we decided to close East High School for the remainder of the week," said District 303 Superintendent Donald Schlomann.

District officials said they had no confirmed cases of swine flu, but many students had been displaying flulike symptoms. They decided to close the school, at 1020 Dunham Road in St. Charles, mostly from an operational point of view. They also had consulted with the Kane County Health Department.

Other schools in the district remained open. The highest absentee rate at any of the other schools was about 12 percent, officials said. That is more in line with the absentee rate this time of year.

Special events such as Friday's football game between rivals St. Charles East and St. Charles North and the school's Kick-A-Thon also will be postponed.

"(The health department's) suggestion was if it is H1N1 -- and that's a question -- (it) normally runs its course in about five days," Schlomann said. "So it made a lot of sense to close for the remainder of the week."

St. Charles' closing comes less than two weeks after the H1N1-related death of a Naperville North High School freshman and the closure at Francis W. Parker School in Chicago after 100 students were sent home with flu symptoms over two days. Authorities are also looking into the death of a DeKalb County teen who health officials said had the H1N1 virus.

District 303 officials said the sick students they saw Tuesday exhibited flulike symptoms, but their main reason for closing the school was it would be too difficult for teachers to repeat lessons.

"I can certainly see why they had to do it," said parent Rita Anne Payleitner. "There's over 900 kids absent and it's going to be too much for them to make up."

Payleitner's daughter, a St. Charles East junior, and her son, a teacher's assistant in special education, were home sick Tuesday.

School board president Scott Nowling's daughter, a sophomore, was also among the students who stayed home sick. "I am grateful as a parent that she has an opportunity to get well and not miss more school," Nowling said. "I think it was a good decision."

Teachers over the next three days will be checking in with students daily to help school officials determine when to re-open the school.

The district allowed sporting events scheduled for Tuesday to take place. At a St. Charles East soccer game, students -- some sick -- decided to play.

"You can hear the boys coughing out there," said Trudi Beardsley, 43, a mother of one St. Charles East player. "There are some boys who are playing sick tonight, but it's a big game so they want to play."